


In His Arms

by BlackRoseBlooms



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-03 21:25:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15827232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRoseBlooms/pseuds/BlackRoseBlooms
Summary: When Enzo commits an unspeakable act against Stefan, the youngest Salvatore flees into the arms of the only man who's ever made him feel safe--Klaus Mikaelson. But he soon discovers his own dark family secret, compelled away by his lover and must learn to trust the hybrid again. In the meantime Damon is mourning the loss of Elena, attempting to control a vampire Bonnie and holding on to the best friend who he has no idea has violated his brother.





	1. The Incident

**Author's Note:**

> This first scene in no way supports or condones rape or any other form of nonconsensual contact. The scene was only written to both demonstrate the depths of darkness within a vampire and as a catalyst for other events in the plot.
> 
> Bear with me. I'm trying to get the jist of posting here so there may be some errors.

CHAPTER ONE

The second he arrived at Salvatore Manor, Enzo began bamming on the door. His heart was unsteady, beating with concern for the only friend he'd had for the past fifty years. Despite their tiffs, Damon was the closest thing to family that he had. He was the closest thing to love. And now he was gone.

"Stefan open the bloody door!"

As if on cue the younger Salvatore appeared, his hazel eyes bloodshot and weary.

"Oh it's you."

It didn't take Enzo's vampiric sense of smell to notice the scent of bourbon.

"What do you want?"

He pushed past him into the home.

"Damon's missing."

Stefan shut the door behind him.

"I've been calling, looking for him everywhere but he's gone. No trace," Enzo continued.

"It's like he just vanished."

Stefan finished off the glass in his hand with a loud gulp. Enzo watched as he then stumbled by him to make his way to the den. There he found the bar and poured himself another drink. Empty glasses and bottles littered the room.

"I just told you that your brother's missing. Don't you have anything to say?"

Stefan looked him dead in his face. And belched.

"You're drunk," Enzo noted, no attempt to hide his disgust.

He'd never cared for Stefan. The do-gooder Salvatore of compassion and guilt and hair gel. The vampire Saint of Mystic Falls. While he and Damon acknowledged what they were, enjoyed the hunts and kills, Stefan fed on animals and abstained from human blood. When he did drink it, Stefan opted for blood bags "donated" from hospitals and clinics. He frowned upon Enzo and Damon's "fresh from the vein" method.

"You're British," Stefan countered in a slurr.

"Cheerio Mate."

He chuckled drunkenly at himself.

"Unbelievable," Enzo found himself fuming.

Typical Stefan behavior. Running away. His brother was missing so what did he do? Get drunk and escape it all instead of getting off his ass and finding him.

"You're such a fucking ponce you know that? You can't face shit can you?"

Stefan didn't respond, his eyes glassy with intoxication. Were he a mere human he'd probably be dead from alcohol poisoning.

"You can't face your thirst so you drink animals. You can't face your nature so you bury it. Then when it's starving and can't take the dehydration you explode into a ripper, wipe out an entire coast and run away from that too. But that's not the worst part, no."

He stalked closer to Stefan, his hatred growing by the second.

"Even after all of that people still love you. They still consider you the hero of this town. Damon still considers you…"

His brother. His true flesh and blood brother. No matter what Enzo could do for him, had done for him—Damon would always choose Stefan over him. But what had Stefan done to earn it? Other than to come tumbling out of the same woman so many years ago? Enzo had given a year's worth of blood—literally starved for Damon at Whitmore. He'd given up his shot at freedom. And after being abandoned to burn in a fire he'd come to forgive Damon and given his friendship yet again.

Stefan raised his refilled glass high above his head in a toast.

"To heroes!" he slurred, tipping it toward his mouth.

The brown liquid poured over his lips, half missing the mark. That infuriated Enzo the more. Stefan, goddamned Stefan! Before he knew it, Enzo was up on him, slamming his face into the counter. Stefan garbled a protest but Enzo quickly shut him down. In his drunken state Stefan was no match. Seeing bloody red Enzo wailed on the younger Salvatore, the object of Damon's undying loyalty. He loathed him, he begrudged him, he envied him all at the same time. Everybody fucking loved Stefan. First Lily Salvatore had doted on her favorite son, then Katherine Pierce on her favorite lover, Elena Gilbert had loved him even after she'd chosen Damon and now even Caroline loved the son of a bitch.

What was so great about Stefan?!

Beyond rage, Enzo threw Stefan over the edge of the bar. His hands moved and he tore down his jeans. Stefan threw his arms out in an attempt to fight him off but Enzo repeated the face slam. Then he tore down Stefan's boxers.

"I'd tell you to go fuck yourself but you need a real man to do that."

Enzo freed his semi-erection and stroked it to completion. He then took Stefan's perfectly toned glutes and spread them apart. He'd need lubricant. Rather than search, he bit into his own wrist drawing blood. Enzo then coated his hardness with it before pressing it to Stefan's unwilling body.

"Looks like I'm the only one here who qualifies."

He forced it inside in its entirety, giving the vampire no time for adjustment. Stefan yelped at the intrusion and tried to get away. But the liquor had dulled his coordination and the beating had stunned him. He stood no chance. Pleased with the power he held over him, Enzo began to thrust himself in and out. He groaned his pleasure.

Beneath him, Stefan was squirming but of no productive manner. The poor drunk had no idea which way was up. He only knew his daze and what Enzo was doing to him. With each strike inside Stefan yelped, tried to crawl away. He lifted his head and tried to see through the blood leaking down his face for explanation. Enzo watched his reaction, his total lack of control and felt a high like never before.

He fucking owned Stefan Salvatore right now. Sheer domination in every sense of the word. The realization made him hotter and he began to pump harder.

"You're no better than me," he hissed at his rival.

Stefan's body rocked under his force.

"You hear me!"

Stefan was crying out.

"You don't deserve him. You don't deserve his loyalty. You don't deserve his love!"

Enzo's fangs shot down as he fucked him even harder. His pace ventured up beyond what a human could stand. But Stefan was no human. So he didn't stop. He didn't relent.

"Stop…" the stunned vampire could barely form words.

"Please…"

Enzo took in the plea and shot it back with an even harder thrust.

"God!"

Stefan's body tensed. His eyes rolled back as he groaned deep and low. Enzo suddenly felt the constriction of Stefan's inner muscles as they tightened in orgasm. Thick globs of white began shooting down the bar. He glared down at his best friend's brother, noting the drunken tears escaping his eyes.

He was responsible. For Stefan's pain, for his pleasure, for his tears. Again the power over his rival turned him on and Enzo grunted in triumph. He carried on, the extra stamina granted with his vampirism serving him well. Stefan came again before passing out and a couple of times while unconscious. When Enzo finally released, he roared his pleasure, biting into Stefan's back with his fangs. He filled his cavity, pumping until the end. Afterward he readjusted his own clothes and took one last look at his enemy.

A tiny trickle of his semen ran down from Stefan's ass.

_Witness the Great Stefan Salvatore._

Feeling much better, Enzo saw himself out, leaving Stefan asleep and exposed on top of the bar.

________________________

 

Stefan woke on the floor, broken glass shards digging into his back. The strong scent of liquor and sex lingered in his nostrils and he attempted to sit up.

"Geez."

He was naked. Lying on broken glass, reeking of alcohol.

_What the hell happened?_

The good thing about being a vampire was that you didn't suffer hangovers. And whatever damage he'd done in his drunken stupor had healed up by now. Well except for the current glass shredding his back. Slowly, gingerly he made his way to his feet. Wow, he'd really made a mess here. The bottles, the spilled liquor the—was that what he thought it was?! He kneeled down closer to examine the streaks leading down to a pooling. Geez, what had he been doing?

_I'd swear never to drink again but that would be a lie._

Still he'd never gotten THIS messed up before. Even on his worst binge. Stefan shuddered. His worst binge hadn't had anything to do with alcohol. The two didn't even compare. Pushing his past aside, he decided to clean the damage here. Out of sight, out of mind. He could forget whatever fool he'd made of himself today. At least he'd been alone.

It didn't take long. Once the den was back to normal he took a moment to toss out his glass tainted shirt. He could still feel the few shards in his back but they were unreachable. Should he call for assistance? Caroline would be over in a heartbeat despite what had gone down. She was always someone he could count on.

_So was Damon._

When it came down to it. Damon did a lot of things but he never abandoned his brother. And he'd paid the price for it. Again feeling himself sinking into grief, Stefan averted his attention to something else. Anything else. The shards in his back. He'd have to call Caroline to remove them. He found his phone half under the rug. Apparently it had fallen from his pocket during his drunken rampage. Inwardly thanking whatever that the screen was intact he called the one person left in Mystic Falls who he could trust.

"Stefan? Are you okay?"

He sat down, ignoring the dig his movement caused in his back.

"You know it's sad that our lives have gotten that reckless that this is how we have to greet each other," he half joked.

"But I'm okay considering."

Caroline blew a sigh of relief through the phone.

"Thank god. When Enzo said he'd paid you a visit he made it sound ominous."

"Enzo?"

He didn't remember seeing Enzo.

"Yea, he came by here asking about Damon. I told him I wasn't the Salvatore yellow pages and if he wanted to find Damon I was the last person to ask."

Stefan almost smirked at the quip. Caroline was no fan of his brother. In fact the only person in town who hated Damon more was probably Matt Donavan.

"And he said he'd paid me a visit?"

Stefan felt an odd twinge in his head as a cloudy image of Enzo crept in.

**_"…You're such a fucking ponce, you know that?"_ **

"Yea, he said it all menacing like paying a visit was the equivalent to tearing your throat out or something. You know Enzo. Damon's evil twin."

Stefan glanced at the door.

_**"Damon's missing…"** _

It felt like recalling a dream.

"So he didn't drop by to harass you?" Caroline was asking.

"That's a relief. I figured he was just trying to intimidate me."

Stefan blinked, not really listening.

_**"You can't face shit can you?"** _

It was coming back, grainy but there. An uneasy feeling settled into his bones as he fought for the recollection of Enzo's visit. He'd come in, attitudinal as usual. He always had a chip on his shoulder when Damon wasn't around. The words came and went but there was something else.

**_Stefan's face hit the bar…_ **

Images flashed, sensations popped up. Pain in his face. Pain in his back. Pain in his…

_That couldn't have happened. That's just—no I had a crazy nightmare. There's no way._

But his face was crusted in dried blood. His pants had been at the foot of the bar. Along with another bodily fluid.

_I was drunk. It was all some weird erotic nightmare because I was drunk. Enzo was Damon's friend so he appeared to punish me for not saving him._

But as he tried to convince himself he'd already started for the door. Outside he found his motorcycle and climbed on.

"Stefan? Did you hear what I just said?" Caroline hadn't stopped talking.

He had no interest in whatever she was saying.

"I have to go."

He ended the call abruptly before securing his phone in his pocket and pulling off. As he sped through town the dream danced around his head. Still not completely clear but the impressions stuck. There was pain, contempt and a complete loss of control. They were real, even if he wasn't sure about the images. Stefan felt a clench in his chest.

Real and a tad bit familiar.

By the time he arrived at Enzo's place the dream had worked him up. Confusion, apprehension and a heaping dose of anger filled him as he banged on the front door.

"Enzo! Open up!"

The home was rather upscale—not to compete with Salvatore Manor but Enzo had compelled his way into a pretty decent dwelling in a pretty decent area. The kind of area that wouldn't likely tolerate angry young men banging on doors. But Stefan didn't care. The harder he hit the door the more he wanted it to be Enzo.

"Open this goddamn door right now!"

His wish was granted when Enzo's car pulled up in the driveway. Stefan spun around, storming toward him as he exited the vehicle.

"What the hell happened when you came by my house today?" he demanded to know.

Enzo stood his full height, a cocky smirk on his face that sickened Stefan.

"Nice of you to stop by. I wish you'd called first. I would've prepared something."

Stefan squared off, glaring him directly in the eyes.

"Don't fuck around, Enzo. Tell me what happened!"

He seemed to find Stefan's anger amusing.

"Interesting choice of words," he chuckled.

Infuriated, Stefan yanked him by his collar with both hands, nearly spitting in his face.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

His face was burning red, his eyes stinging with emotion. His fists trembled as he held the his brother's friend in place for an answer. Yet as he demanded one a part of him already had it. A part of him remembered the nightmare. Remembered the shame. As if reading that part of him, Enzo's smile grew. Like a shark, leering and dangerous at the same time. He reached up to Stefan's fists and covered them with his own. All humor left his eyes.

"I fucked you like the bitch that you are."

His honesty threw Stefan off and he had to blink to process.

"I beat the piss out of your face and then I fucked the shit out of your asshole. You were drunk and helpless and you begged me to stop. Right before you blew you load on your own bloody bar."

He squeezed Stefan's fists just short of breaking bone.

"And after that I did it again and again. And you know what you did? You came again and again."

Stefan couldn't breathe. All of a sudden his air was cut short. Memories flooded him in clear detail now, sent to him telepathically by Enzo. He saw it all from his attacker's point of view, the way he'd been slammed into the bar, his pants torn down. He saw the fruitless struggle, heard his own drunken cries as Enzo had pummeled his insides. He tried to pull back, away from the gross violation but Enzo's grip tightened further.

The images kept coming, his naked body overrun by the other vampire. Humiliation burned through Stefan, consuming him until he heard himself yelling for Enzo to stop. He wasn't aware of the moisture gathering in his eyes until the images ceased. Only then did Enzo release him. In shock, Stefan stumbled backward, falling to the lawn. As he tried to breathe Enzo stood over him, clearly enjoying his effect.

"Now you know what happened. Are you satisfied? Because I was."

Overwrought, Stefan took a clumsy swing at him but missed entirely.

"You—you son of a bitch!"

He couldn't see straight, couldn't think at all. All he could see was himself being violated repeatedly. Begging semi-coherently for it to stop like…like a child.

Familiarity hit. He'd been here before. This feeling of complete helplessness, of anxiety and misery. He'd bathed in these waters, sunken below.

_But I was never…_

"So what, did you come back for more?" Enzo taunted.

"You enjoy yourself a little too much?"

To further the insult, he began to unbuckle his belt. The sight brought on a panic that drove Stefan to his feet. With vamp speed he was on his bike. He didn't look back at Enzo as he tore off into the street and away from his nightmare turned real. As he dodged other vehicles, narrowly missed pedestrians, Stefan fought for composure. This wasn't him, running away from Enzo of all people. He'd faced off with worse over the centuries, hell in the past few years. But this…what Enzo had done was…it had triggered something in him almost as deep as his bloodthirst.

Stefan continued his ride, his body on auto-pilot. He didn't stop when he hit the highway, when he passed the town sign nor when he crossed the state border. There was only one place that he could think of—one place where he could feel safe and secure enough to collect himself. That place was in the arms of the one he'd walked out on decades ago. That place was in New Orleans.


	2. The Witch

The only witch in town or even in its vicinity who gave a rat's ass about Damon Salvatore was Bonnie Bennett. Ever since their shared imprisonment the two had gotten close. Truthfully Enzo found it amusing. Bonnie was certainly more loyal to Damon than Stefan ever was. She was the one person who always came when he called, always willing to help even to sacrifice herself for the good of her friends. Truth be told she was the only one in the bunch that he could at least stomach her existence. He wouldn't admit it but he kind of liked her.

Even still not even Bonnie could be found at the moment. That pissed him off.

_The disappearances are related. They have to be._

The fact that Stefan, Caroline and everyone else he'd questioned had given him nothing to go on was bad enough but they hadn't even mentioned Bonnie's absence. Then again he wasn't sure if they'd noticed. Just as they did him, people only seemed to call Bonnie when they needed something. Apparently not even the useless Matt Donovan needed anything from her.

 _Damon always called Matt useless_.

He missed his friend. He missed having A FRIEND. Having a partner in arms, laughing as they terrorized the Matt Donovans of the world. Bathing in the blood of their enemies. Bonding as brothers should. Stefan never did those things with Damon, in fact he'd judged the hell out of him and called Enzo a bad influence. Because Damon was trying to change, he said. Damon was turning over a new leaf. For that tart Elena.

Well at least Elena was out of the picture for the next sixty or so years. She was even more annoying than Caroline.

"Hey Lover, I was thinking about you."

The witch on the other line lived in Richmond and had a thing for kinky foreplay. Her name was Franchesca but her friends called her Fran. She allowed Enzo to call her whatever he liked for his talents.

"Calling for a recap of your last visit?" she cooed.

It had been fun, but fun wasn't on his to-do list right now.

"Maybe later, Love. Right now I'm in need of a locator spell. Think you can swing one on such short notice?"

He knew she was pouting her lips.

"But I work so much better in the flesh. You sure you can't drop by?"

Of course he'd have to drop by to give her a personal affect of Damon's to use for the spell. She knew that.

"I suppose we can work something out," he played along.

"For your troubles, I mean. I'll owe you big."

She giggled, a naughty sound.

"I look forward to collecting."

Enzo glanced in his rearview as he pulled out of his driveway.

"I'll be there in a couple of hours. I just have to pick up some things first."

His next destination was Salvatore Manor. As Stefan wasn't home he forced his way inside through a window. He then headed to Damon's room. There was plenty to choose from in reference to Damon's personal items. A comb, loads of clothes, a toothbrush. Enzo's eyes rested on something else, something that didn't belong.

Damon's daylight ring.

It should have been on his finger. Damon NEVER took it off. And the fact that it sat here on his dresser, out in the open didn't bode well. Why would Damon leave his daylight ring? Wherever he was, he would certainly need it.

Unless he no longer did.

"What are you doing here?"

Enzo whirled around to find none other than the Bennett witch herself standing in Damon's doorway. Though her tone held a demand, her features were nothing like the bright and vibrant woman he was used to seeing. Her green eyes were dark, her mocha skin pallid. A dark heir loomed around her.

"I could ask you the same thing," was his response.

Bonnie glanced around the room.

"You look like Hell," Enzo remarked.

She didn't seem too bothered by the observation.

"I feel like it."

Her eyes landed on Damon's daylight ring. Before she could move toward it, Enzo scooped it up.

"What happened to you?" he inquired.

She really did look like death run over. Bonnie gave him a look of both exasperation and exhaustion.

"I died. Earlier today," she answered.

Died? But that would mean—

"Elena's dead too," Bonnie read his mind. "But hers isn't as temporary."

Enzo stared in disbelief.

"You mean she's gone? And you're in transition. To become a vampire?"

Bonnie Bennett as a vampire? That was rich! She waved off his question as she approached him.

"Yes and yes now I need Damon's ring."

Enzo eyed her suspiciously. Damon needed his ring more.

"Why isn't Damon wearing it?" he wanted to know.

Bonnie didn't beat around the bush.

"Because he's dead."

The three words hit Enzo with such force that he nearly keeled over.

"What?"

"But I can bring him back," Bonnie explained.

"How? You're dead! A dead witch can't do magic."

His voice had escalated in the grief. Damon. His only friend in the world was gone. Now he truly was all alone.

"But a heretic can," Bonnie argued," and I have one downstairs who's willing to do whatever she can to bring back Stefan's brother."

Valerie. She was the only one it could be.

"You ever heard of Expression?" Bonnie asked, "a neat little spell that can bring back the dead? It killed me once when I used it to bring back my boyfriend. But here's the kicker. Heretics are already undead so a spell like Expression can't kill them."

Enzo stared.

"So you're telling me that Damon is dead but Valerie can bring him back. Just like you did with your Gilbert boy?"

Bonnie nodded, looking even more tired.

"Yes now please can we go? I don't have much time."

This time when she opened her hand he trusted her with the ring. She then led him down to the den where Valerie was waiting.

"Enzo?" she was surprised to see him.

He was less concerned with pleasantries.

"You can bring Damon back?" he asked her.

Valerie nodded solemnly.

"Yes, I can."

It was all he needed to hear.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get on with it."

_______________________

 

Damon's body was right where she'd left it. In her determination to resurrect him, Bonnie had dragged him into the back of his car. Bonnie could tell that it pained Enzo to see Damon like that, lifeless with a gaping hole where his heart should be. It pained her as well. But that pain would be over soon. Once the spell was complete Damon would be his old self, alive and kicking. And Bonnie would be able to cross over in peace. Her only regret was that she would'nt get to see Elena one last time. Her last memory of her being her best friend consumed in the flames.

As Valerie prepared, Bonnie took the time to take in her last moments on this plane. She was going to miss everything about this place. The emotions, the food, the friends. The connection to the earth through her magic. Most of all she'd miss the bonds she shared with her closest comrades; Matt, Caroline, Elena, Damon. Poor Damon. He'd wake just to find that the love of his life was gone. But Valerie would bring her back too. Just like she herself had done with Jeremy after Elena had burned their house down. She hadn't needed his body to resurrect him. Valerie wouldn't need Elena's.

Bonnie on the other hand saw no way out. She certainly couldn't complete the transition and live an eternity without magic. She'd gone a year without it back when she was the anchor. It was a miserable existence. Unable to help her friends, watching as other witches hurt them. She'd gladly choose death over an eternity magically impaired. Over living forever powerless.

In the midst of her thoughts, Bonnie lost her balance and tumbled forward. Enzo caught her with quickness.

"Thanks," she managed, feeling herself shutting down.

Enzo held her, his hands still around her waist as a balance. He was looking her over with a frown.

"You need to transition. You're on your way out, Love."

She knew that already.

"Don't worry about me," Bonnie replied, straightening her posture.

"I'm going to be fine."

She expected Enzo to nod and move on, returning his focus to his actual friend, Damon. Instead he kept her close.

"No you're not. You need blood now or you won't make it. Why haven't you drunken any blood?"

Damn, the one-time she'd depended on a guy to ignore her. Here he was actually concerned for her wellbeing.

"Don't worry about it," she snapped, trying to pull away.

But her weakened state against his vampire strength was no match. He held her in place, one hand over her midsection.

"You need to transition now or you're going to die, do you understand?"

She looked at him.

"I understand, now back off."

When again she tried to pull away, exhaustion hit her and everything went swimming. She could barely hear Enzo's words over the impending death drum in her ear. Bonnie felt herself being lifted, carried. She tried to protest but her lips were too heavy, too dry. To move her jaw was too much effort. She hadn't wanted to go yet. She'd wanted to make sure that Damon was okay. That Elena would be brought back for him. But now she supposed this was best. Damon shouldn't see her die twice.

She allowed her eyes to close one last time.


	3. The Transition

"Damnit don't die on me!"

Enzo had carried her to the sofa to lay her down. Now he stood over her watching the serenity envelope her face in the mask of eternal slumber. No, she couldn't die. She was a friend of Damon's and Damon would kill him if he allowed Bonnie to die.

 _Not to mention she's not half bad_.

Enzo propped a throw pillow under her head and thought. The Salvatores kept blood bags around for Stefan when he wasn't hunting bunnies. And Damon used them when he was trying to play nice. Down in the cellar there was a freezer. He vamp-sped down and retrieved a bag. It was cold but it would have to do.

He used a fang to tear it and opened Bonnie's mouth.

"Sorry Love, I can't let you die. Damon needs you. And I get the feeling I might like you around."

The blood poured down her throat and Enzo watched and waited. A trickle ran over her lip. He used his thumb to wipe it away. Then he licked the blood off and watched some more. Relief hit him when Bonnie gasped. The transition was in full effect now.

Her body arched skyward, the force of the magic taking her. He watched as her fingers straightened, her toes curled outward. The fabric of her blouse tightened as her chest strained against the material, her nipples rock hard underneath. Enzo allowed his eyes to linger, appreciating the view. He could get used to an eternity of looking at this.

Bonnie shifted again, her eyes shooting open. He kept his eyes on her, recalling the process like it was yesterday instead of over a hundred and ten years ago. The intensity, the heat, the complete overhaul of every system in the body—muscle, blood and bone. No it wasn't easy but immortality was a gift well worth it. When the transition was finished, Bonnie turned to look at him.

"What just—"

She glanced around the room, at her hands, at everything before coming back to him. She must be experiencing everything with her new vampiric senses. Realization read all over as her beautiful face turned to a scowl.

"What did you do to me?"

She was the second person to ask him that question today. By far she was also the best looking.

"I kept you from making the worst mistake of your life," he answered. "You're welcome by the way."

That didn't soften her glare.

"I didn't want this. I didn't choose this!"

Neither had he when he'd first been turned but he'd learned to love it. So would she.

"You'll get over that," he commented dismissively. "Your first taste of blood and you'll be—"

Bonnie gave him no time to finish as she lunged at him. She caught him off guard, getting a grip around his throat and he fell backward to the floor. She landed on top of him and began punching, slapping and beating against him with her fists.

"Why?!" she screamed, "Why would you do this to me?!"

He could feel the fury in her hits, raw emotion in her voice. Nevertheless, though her attack was pretty zealous he felt no sense of alarm. He'd be able to toss a newbie vamp with ease if he wanted to, especially one who hadn't adequately fed yet. But her anger, her passion as she fought on top of him was feeling a lot nicer than clobbering her. Besides, rather than hurting him, this was actually turning him on.

 _No Love, that's not a stake in my pocket. I'm just very happy to see you_.

"You bastard! I knew you were an ass but I didn't know you were this cruel! Stefan was right, the best thing Damon ever did was let you go!"

That comment hit a nerve. Provoked by a different heat he took her small wrists into a death grip.

"Stefan is a self-righteous pussy who doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about!" he growled.

Bonnie struggled in his hold.

"He said you're poison that you don't give a damn about anybody but yourself and that seems accurate to me!"

Stefan would say some shit like that.

"Spoken from the same brother that doesn't give a damn when Damon's missing. You want to know how selfish I am? How little I give a damn? I didn't finish your turn to torture you, genius. I did it for Damon because he needs you!"

Bonnie paused in his grasp.

"What?"

He would have to spell it out for her.

"Elena's dead. You know what that's going to do to him. He's going to need you, your support. I couldn't sit back and let you die. What kind of friend would I be if I allowed the most important woman in Damon's life to just die?"

When she didn't resume struggling, Enzo figured she was finally getting it.

"I may not care about a lot of people," he admitted, "but the few that I do care for, I'm loyal to. I care about Damon. I love the stupid git and I would do anything in my power to make sure he's okay. Even if that means pissing off the most dangerous witch in Mystic Falls."

For a moment Bonnie seemed touched. She looked upon him with different eyes, a little less hatred. An understanding passed between them and he knew that they had that one thing in common. They would do anything for their friends. And the one friend that they shared was Damon Salvatore.

"You're an idiot," Bonnie broke the bond.

When she pulled her hands away, he allowed her.

"Come again?"

She glared.

"Elena's not gone—not for good. What part of 'Expression' spell didn't you understand? We have a heretic—an immortal magic drawing witch doing the one spell that can raise the dead as they were. Did you really think that she was just going to raise Damon and NOT Elena too?"

He hadn't thought that far.

"I just wanted her to raise Damon first so that Elena would wake up to a familiar face. I wasn't going to be there and she's never met Valerie."

Enzo sat up to his elbows. So the witch had set a plan all along. The sneaky little thing.

"And you couldn't tell me this?" he asked.

Bonnie gave him a look.

"I didn't have much time."

No she hadn't. Because she'd been dying. Again.

"And what part of this grand plan of yours included picking up the pieces after Damon found out you were gone?"

Bonnie looked away, but that didn't stop him.

"I meant what I said. And somehow you're being dead would interfere with Damon being okay," he scolded.

"Yea well maybe my decision not to transition had nothing to do with Damon," Bonnie shot back.

That passion was back in her sparking greens.

"Maybe this was my life—my decision."

He had never questioned that only the stupid choice she'd made.

"You have the choice to live forever and you decide on immediate death? That's ludicrous."

"What do you know?"

"You were obviously making the wrong decision. It's a good thing for you that I was here to clean up your mess before you did permanent damage."

She scowled at him and Enzo was glad that she could no longer use her powers. If looks could kill he was sure that his head would be vamp soup right now.

"Permanent damage?" Bonnie hissed.

"Because of you I'm cursed to walk this world forever, completely cut off from my magic—my heritage—my birthright as a Bennett witch. You've turned me into a blood sucking parasite—the same kind of parasite that the only man I've ever loved currently hunts! So when you say BEFORE permanent damage I'd say it's already been done!"

He expected her to attack again. When instead she climbed off of him and turned her back, he was surprised. Enzo rose to his feet as Bonnie's shoulders began to tremble. He watched as she wrapped her arms around herself and sniffled. What, was she crying? Seriously?

"Bloody hell what have you got to cry about? So you can't do magic. You ARE magic. Forever young, superior strength, compulsion? That beats floating feathers any day. And as for Gilbert, I don't see him anywhere as it is. Whatever ship you two had has long sailed away. In my opinion he wasn't man enough for you anyway."

Bonnie turned to face him and he saw tears on her cheeks. Beautiful cheeks, soft cheeks. Had she always been this gorgeous?

"You didn't see him when you and Damon were gone. His parade of whores. Hell nobody's seen him since you've been back. He quit on you. Gave up just like Stefan did. If I were your man, I would never give up on you. I would exhaust every avenue, run down every path—face the devil himself to get you back. I'd stop at nothing until you were back and safe with me. And once you were back I'd never let you go."

Bonnie's eyes softened and she swallowed. Enzo moved closer.

"You know I'm good for it. You've seen what I'll do for Damon. My loyalty has no bounds."

When his hand touched hers she didn't pull away. When he took it into his she didn't object. When he brought it to his lips for a kiss she only stared up at his taller figure. Then just as quickly a blur shot between them and Enzo felt himself tossed across the room. His back hit the wall, bringing down blocks of plaster with him.

"What the hell!"

Retaliation in mind, Enzo shot to his feet to find a surprising body blocking Bonnie protectively. His anger transformed into joy.

"Damon?"

He was back. Alive and well and eyeing his best friend suspiciously.

"Bonnie, you all right?" Damon kept his eyes warily on Enzo.

The gesture reinforced Enzo's belief that he'd made the right decision in bringing her back. Damon would protect her even from his own people.

"It worked!" she threw her arms around him, bringing a look of confusion onto Damon's face.

"Thank god!"

Damon was catching on that Bonnie was in no danger.

"What are you—Hello can't move."

Bonnie didn't release him. Looking more confused than ever, he turned to Enzo for answers.

"What the hell is going on here?"

It was good to see Damon again, good to hear the inflection of impatience in his question. For years Damon's had been the only friendly voice in his life. Separated by cement and vervain soaked bars, they'd bonded close enough to rival his brotherly bond with Stefan. Enzo dusted the debris from his clothing as he approached.

"You were dead, Mate."

Damon stared.

"Your heart must have been ripped clean out your chest because all of this—" he gestured toward Damon's chest—"was a huge hole."

Bonnie released him long enough to cross in front of him.

"What do you remember?" she asked patiently.

But Damon was still stuck on the revelation.

"I was dead?"

He looked down at his chest, his torn open shirt and felt around his pale toned pecs for any evidence of a hole. Enzo took the moment to rest a hand on his shoulder supportively.

"But you're back now, Mate. Bonnie made sure of that."

Damon looked at Bonnie then and something clicked.

"You were dead," he breathed.

"I-I saw you…"

Bonnie nodded, touching his other shoulder.

"Yea."

"Julian snapped your neck. Then I went after him and—" he glanced down at his chest.

"That son of a bitch killed me."

Julian. Enzo made a vow inwardly to tear that bastard's head off. He'd already taken enough from him. Now his best friend. Thank god for Bonnie Bennett. And Stefan's stalker Valerie. Where was she anyway?

"He's dead now," Bonnie assured Damon, much to both his and Enzo's surprise.

"Stefan killed him."

Stefan? Stefan Salvatore? The same Stefan he'd just seen hours earlier in this exact den?

"What do you mean Stefan killed him?" Enzo asked.

"How could Stefan take out Julian? The guy is ancient—I couldn't even beat him."

It didn't make sense.

"He had help."

Enzo turned to see a very weak and stumbling Valerie entering the room. Bonnie was the only one to move to help her to the sofa. Enzo was still too dumbfounded to breathe.

"You?"

"While Julian was distracted," Valerie elaborated, "I was able to send him a couple hundred aneurysms and Stefan tore his heart out."

Enzo couldn't believe it. Stefan?

"Took a page out of my book, huh?" Damon joked.

He'd beheaded two heretics, Enzo recalled. Both times Bonnie had worked as the distraction. The perfect team.

"Well he had quite a bit of motivation Damon. Or don't you remember that he was there? He saw what happened to you. It did something to him."

Enzo felt the slap of foolishness hit him as Valerie spoke. Damon hadn't been missing, he'd been dead and Stefan had known it. That was why he'd seemed not to be concerned. That was why he'd been drunk off his ass. He'd been grieving.

"Well is he all right? Where is he?" Damon began searching the room.

The last person to see Damon's brother, Enzo was sure, was Enzo himself. When Stefan had cut and run from his place earlier. He certainly wasn't going to volunteer that information though.

"I don't…" Valerie's head bobbed as she nearly lost consciousness.

"…I don't know."

Bonnie touched her forehead, then her cheeks.

"That spell took a lot out of you. I'll get you some blood."

Valerie nodded graciously.

"Thanks dear, but I think…I just…need…"

She was out then, fast asleep. Bonnie shifted her to lie down, guilt in her face.

"That magic did a number on her. If she weren't a vampire she'd have been dead already."

Damon ran his fingers through his hair, edgy with concern.

"Nobody knows where Stefan is? If he saw me die then he needs to know I'm back. He needs to know Bonnie's back."

He turned to Bonnie.

"Locator spell. You can find him. Do your witchy-woo and we can—"

But Bonnie was shaking her head as new tears formed in her eyes.

"I can't."

Enzo knew what was coming. He wasn't looking forward to it.

"Bonnie, what do you mean you can't?"

She glanced over at Enzo. He averted the pain in her eyes by looking up at the ceiling.

"I mean I can't…access magic anymore."

"What are you talking about? Valerie brought you back same as me. I'm still a vampire so—"

"No Damon. Valerie didn't bring me back."

There was silence. Enzo cleared his throat.

"Before the fight you remember when Mary-Louise stabbed me? And Valerie healed me? By feeding me her blood?"

Damon nodded.

"And do you remember Julian snapping my neck not too long after?"

She didn't have to explain further. Enzo watched it hit Damon and saw his friend sink down on the loveseat.

"You transitioned."

Bonnie wiped her eyes.

"A little before you came back. Enzo saw to it."

Damon looked up at Enzo and didn't have to mouth the thanks in his eyes. He couldn't lose Bonnie. Enzo had known that all along.

"It'll be okay," he offered.

"You have me and Damon. We'll show you the ropes, teach you how to feed and have fun."

Bonnie rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Yea, I know your idea of having fun. Thanks but no thanks."

Damon stood and headed to the bar. Enzo watched him pour a drink just as Stefan had done earlier.

 _At least he cleaned off the bar_.

"So my brother's missing and my witch has lost her powers. Any other good news you want to impart?"

He was masking his anxiety with sarcasm. Typical Damon.

"We're bringing Elena back," Bonnie spoke up.

Damon looked at her, doubtful.

"Julian cremated her. There's no coming back from that."

Bonnie spoke quickly.

"But Valerie's a heretic. She can do it. The same way she did with you."

She met Damon at the bar.

"She just needs to rest and she'll be up for it. Remember, Expression can't kill her."

He didn't say anything, only looked from Bonnie to Valerie. Enzo caught Damon's jaw clenching, indicative of emotional suppression.

"We're going to get her back," Bonnie reiterated.

"We'll bring Elena back."


	4. The Heretic

He only stopped for gas. Even then he didn't dare think. Stefan kept his mind on the road and on the loving monster that had known him years ago. During the 1920s while he'd been binging Stefan had met Klaus Mikaelson. Equally bloodthirsty, they'd made a home together, shared good times…shared a bed. The word out was that his humanity had been off during those days but Stefan knew that it wasn't the case. He'd loved Klaus. A vampire without humanity couldn't love.

He recalled those precious moments. Aside from the bloodshed it had been pretty tender. Klaus had always been the protective type. At the time Stefan hadn't understood. He'd been a formidable ripper in his own right and saw no need to be protected. Now it was all he wanted. He supposed he should call ahead. Rebekah had left his number the last time she'd come to see Matt. Not that Stefan had needed it. Klaus hadn't changed his number since he'd lived in Mystic Falls a couple of years ago.

_I can't call him. What would I say?_

That he was raped? That despite all of the lives he'd taken, battles he'd fought, near second-death experiences he'd been done in by one dick up the ass? Stefan shook away the images. No, this wasn't about the act. It was about much more. It was about the overwhelming sense of vulnerability it left inside him. A feeling that he couldn't quite escape.

_I've never felt so helpless in my entire life._

But at the same time he had. And that was the problem. If he'd never been raped before then why did it all feel so familiar? Only one theory came to mind but he dared not give it credence. Klaus had always been protective but would he protect him from his own memories?

_________________________

 

Damon watched Bonnie draw the bag, her soft face a contrast to the black veins of a vampire. The only other turn that had hit him as hard was that of his own girlfriend, Bonnie's best friend, Elena. She'd been such a sweet person but vampirism had turned her into a killer. Now here Bonnie was on the same path. He'd have to do a better job with her.

A stream of blood leaked down her chin as Bonnie drank greedily. He hadn't expected her to give in to the thirst so quickly but Enzo had helped with that. Even now Enzo sat beside her, easing her into the change.

"Slow down, Love. Just relax. You've got forever to drink so savor the flavor."

Damon wasn't used to seeing this side of Enzo at least not with someone else. Though he'd known that tender side existed it was rare that he saw it in person. Had he ever seen it in person?

"Here, you'll get it on your clothes."

Enzo swiped the blood from her chin with his thumb. Bonnie was too preoccupied with her new thirst to notice.

_Well aren't we getting cozy._

Valerie was still asleep, thoroughly spent. They'd gotten blood into her first and she'd woken with the strength enough to drink but she hadn't finished half a bag before passing out again. It would take time. Just like when you broke a vampire's neck, recovering from Expression wasn't a quick feat. That didn't stop him from wishing it was though.

Elena would be back. He'd get to see her, hold her, hear her voice again. And best of all he wouldn't have to lose Bonnie in the process.

"Wow, I feel so different," she was saying, "Like power is just surging through me. Is this what drinking blood does to you?"

Damon almost laughed.

"You're feeling your body at full strength for the first time," Enzo answered.

"Nice, right?"

Bonnie stretched her arms out in front of her, looking at her fingers as if for the first time seeing them.

"A lot better than reciting all that Latin and floating feathers," Enzo added.

Bonnie gave him a look.

 _Too soon_ , Damon knew.

"What I wouldn't give right now to just light you up for that," Bonnie remarked, more serious than her tone.

Enzo responded with a teasing wink.

"You trying to tell me you think I'm hot, Love?"

Bonnie's eyes narrowed.

"Don't flatter yourself. The only way you could ever be hot to me is by _phesmatos incindia_."

Suddenly Enzo's shirt burst into flames.

"Bloody—"

He leaped to his feet, tearing the thing off and tossing it into the fireplace. Damon shot over in disbelief. He took Bonnie's shoulders.

"Did you do that?" he wanted to know.

She was just as surprised as he was.

"I don't—I don't know. I just said the words and Enzo was burning.

"Oh yea I'm fine, thanks for asking," Enzo remarked sarcastically.

Of course he was, Damon had seen him through worse.

"Can you do that again?" Damon asked Bonnie.

Enzo was backing away.

"No, no she can't!" he insisted.

Damon waved a hand to shush him.

"Try something. Anything that's not Enzo."

Bonnie was blinking in surprise.

"I, um okay."

She glanced around the room for anything worth lighting up. A magazine on the table caught her eye.

" _Phesmatos incindia_."

The paper was instant flames.

"Oh my god," Bonnie breathed.

"How did you do that?" Damon was floored.

"You're a vampire now. Vampires can't work magic."

Enzo was still wary but he stepped closer.

"Apparently this one can."

But how? When Bonnie's mother had turned she could no longer practice magic. Hell when the Originals had become the first vampires they'd lost the witch potential they'd inherited from their mother. There was no way a witch could be a vampire except…he glanced at Valerie.

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

Both Enzo and Bonnie followed his gaze.

"No way," Bonnie murmured. "You think?"

Enzo folded his arms under his bare chest.

"Well isn't this interesting."

Bonnie looked at Damon.

"I don't think we've ever seen a heretic turn a witch before," she noted.

"At least not the non-siphoning kind."

So Bonnie was the first.

"You did die with Valerie's blood in your system. And she's definitely a heretic."

So was Bonnie a heretic now? A forever magic siphoning vampire? Both Enzo's shirt and the magazine on the counter would attest so.

"What else can you do?" he wondered.

"Try some other spells."

First she floated the pillow, then Damon's whiskey glass. Then she gave Enzo an aneurysm. Enzo wasn't too pleased but she hadn't wanted to hurt Damon. After having his heart ripped out of his chest earlier he'd been through enough, she'd said. But Damon suspected she just liked hurting Enzo. Hey, whatever floated her boat.

Convinced that she did indeed have magic, Bonnie attempted a locator spell for Stefan. As with the others it was a success, but the results weren't as he'd hoped. His baby brother had left Mystic Falls.

"He thinks I'm dead," Damon groaned.

He poured another glass and drank.

"He probably high-tailed out of here and never looked back. This whole damn town is probably a reminder –one big grave. I have to find him and tell him that I'm okay."

But Stefan wasn't answering his phone. And judging by his distance he wasn't sitting still. If he wanted to talk to him he'd have to find out his destination and possibly beat him there.

"Well you know Stefan better than anyone living or dead," Bonnie reminded him.

"In the face of his biggest heartbreak, where would he go?"

Damon thought about it. He was all Stefan really had. Though he'd make a few friends and acquaintances here and there, Stefan never let anyone come too close on account of his bloodthirst. He didn't want to accidentally drink anyone. And other vampires seemed to frown upon his dietary choices. Truth be told there had only been three vampires he'd withstood long enough to develop a lasting relationship. One was dead and the other was Damon. Which only left the final choice. Damon's heart slumped in dread.

"I know where he's headed," he remarked sullenly.

"To make the biggest mistake of his life. Again."

_________________________

 

A heretic. She still couldn't believe it. After all of the fighting, all of the hatred she'd had for them she'd now become one. The universe had a strange sense of humor. Still there was a bright side to this. She could perform magic which meant she could help her friends.

"What's the point of going after him is all I'm saying. It's not like he's trying to off himself."

Enzo was being an asshole. As usual. Birds of a feather.

"He's my brother numbnuts and he saw me die."

Damon had his keys in his hand.

"You don't even know for sure if he's going to New Orleans," Enzo protested.

"And even if he is, he's got God knows how big a head start. You'll never beat him there."

Damon started for the door.

"I don't need to beat him, I just need to see him."

Bonnie agreed.

"You go ahead. I'll keep a watch over Valerie until she wakes up."

Enzo followed Damon outside but it didn't hinder Bonnie's hearing him. These new vampiric abilities were coming in handy.

"You can't go Damon. What about Elena?"

Damon paused.

"Elena? What does she have to do with New Orleans? We can't even wake her up until Sleeping Heretic comes out of her coma. What are you talking about?"

That was when Bonnie had an idea. She hurried out the door.

"Don't worry about Elena you guys. She's got two heretics on her side now," she proclaimed.

Damon whirled around, his crazy blue eyes understanding.

"No Bonnie—"

"I have magic now," she pressed, "an endless supply. Plus I've done the spell before."

But before she knew it, Damon was on her. In just one blink he had her shoulders, pinning her to the wall. His eyes bore into her with an intensity that shook her core. Were she of a weaker constitution she would have flinched .

"And it killed you!" Damon's voice was a hiss, "Or don't you remember that?"

Didn't she? Of course she did! She needed no reminders of the nightmare that had begun a host of nightmares! Her death had freed Silas enabling him to slaughter her father and countless people. Her death had ultimately brought about her meeting Kai. But she'd done it all for Elena.

"How could I forget," she snapped back, appalled at the reminder.

"But in case you caught a case of short term memory loss I'm a heretic now. Which means I can't die. So I can do the spell."

"You're not doing the spell!" Damon insisted.

"It's too dangerous."

She couldn't believe that he of all people was saying that. Hadn't Valerie just raised him with the same spell?

"What do you mean too dangerous? It worked on you just fine," she argued.

"I didn't say it's not effective."

"Then I'm doing the spell."

"The hell you are!"

Thoroughly peeved, Bonnie used her magic to throw Damon across the yard. Who was he to try to tell her what spell she was or wasn't going to do? Especially a spell that would allow her to see her best friend again.

"You know I don't understand you," she remarked.

"I'd think you'd be glad to get Elena back. Don't you want her back?"

She watched Damon stalk over, equally pissed that she'd thrown him.

"I do but not at the expense of losing you! Damn it Bonnie you already died once under Expression. And then you just died again today. I'm not chancing it ever again. You want Val to do the spell fine I don't give a damn about Val. As far as I'm concerned she's just another thing that my mother chose over me and Stefan but you? I will NOT lose you again do you understand? You mean too fucking much to me!"

She'd already been preparing a comeback. Her mind was in fight mode but his confession disarmed her. For Damon Salvatore to admit to caring about anyone other than Elena was unprecedented. Sure everyone knew not to mess with Stefan and that Enzo held a place in his heart but he never expressed it so openly and honestly. To admit to caring made one vulnerable and Damon wasn't one to be vulnerable. He'd avoid the mere appearance at all costs.

But as shocking as his admittance was, it was the glittering in his eyes, the shine of fresh dew hinting that threw her. Had the prospect of her death really brought this out of him?

"Is that how you get her to shut up?"

Both Bonnie and Damon turned to see Enzo watching them with amusement. Rather than engage him, Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"You're not doing the spell," Damon repeated.

She decided not to argue.

"I'm going to check on Val."

Damon could say what he wanted but at the end of the day it was her decision. She knew he only wanted to protect her but she wasn't some vulnerable damsel. She was a Bennett. And she was a vampire. An indestructible heretic. Nothing and no one could stop her now. She ignored a suspicious glance from Enzo and headed inside.

_I'll just wait until Damon's gone then I'll do the spell._

There was no point in overtaxing Valerie. She'd already done more than enough. As a witch Bonnie knew what that was like. To give and have it underappreciated. She wouldn't do that to Valerie. Bonnie entered the den to find her sire had awakened. And was gone.

_Maybe she's looking for us._

But as she approached the sofa she found the note. It was a scrap sheet of paper torn off the first notebook she'd seen most likely but it got the point across.

"Oh no."

_**Sorry I couldn't stay longer. I'd tell you where I am but as you so eloquently put it you don't give a damn.** _

_**Valerie** _


	5. The Betrayal

It didn't matter. Bonnie could still raise Elena herself. Even without her sire. Damon would be off looking for Stefan so he couldn't interfere. And Enzo had no reason to bother her. In fact after that speech he'd given about Damon needing to be okay he should be down for it. He had forced her to transition for Damon after all. How much more would he do to reunite Damon with Elena?

Bonnie bit her lip, plotting her course of action. Elena's body had been moved from the storage unit when Julian had threatened to blow it up. Of course they'd learned that it had been a set-up to get Damon, Elena and Bonnie in the same place. Julian had wanted to take Elena from him just as he blamed Damon and Stefan for losing Lily. He'd wanted to kill the both of them right in front of Damon's face.

He'd succeeded. Elena's body had been incinerated right before their eyes.

Bonnie brushed off the memory, instead plotting her best friend's return. She could get things started before Damon reached the end of the road. Excited about the prospect of seeing Elena again, Bonnie went for the desk to grab Gram's (no, it was officially hers after she'd written her first spell) grimoire only to come to a startling discovery.

The grimoire was gone!

Damon had already taken off by the time she reached the front yard. Enzo was climbing into his car as well.

"Hey! You weren't just going to leave me here?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

Enzo paused.

"I have an errand to run. You just keep your eyes on our little heretic friend."

Bonnie halted his door from closing with her magic as she approached. She caught the annoyance on his face but didn't care.

"She's gone. Valerie took off. And she took my grimoire with her."

Enzo raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, what?"

Bonnie handed him the note.

"The copy of that resurrection spell was in that grimoire. Now it's gone and so is she. Coincidence? I think not."

The only other suspect was Enzo but he had no reason to hurt Damon. And taking his last chance at seeing Elena would do just that.

"That makes no sense," Enzo remarked, handing the paper back to her.

"How'd she take anything when she was passed out most of the time?"

Bonnie shrugged.

"I don't know but it's between you her."

Enzo looked directly into her eyes then.

"And what makes you think it wasn't me? We got pretty close in there. When you died. When I fed you. When you jumped my bones. It could have all been a distraction."

He winked.

"I didn't jump your bones I beat your ass."

Enzo smirked.

"That's a stretch but I'll say you were definitely all over me."

There was a hint of something in his eye a little more than teasing. It unnerved her just a bit. Bonnie straightened her shoulders.

"We have to get Elena back. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Can you even do the spell without a body?" was his reply.

Bonnie shrugged.

"I didn't have Jeremy's body when I brought him back."

Hadn't they been over this already?

"Yea…well have fun with that," Enzo slid into his seat secured the door.

When he rolled down the window Bonnie leaned in.

"I thought you said you want what's best for Damon," she snapped.

He gave her a half amused, half offended look.

"I do."

"Then help me bring back his girlfriend. Help me bring back my best friend."

He released a chuckle.

"And tell me how that's best for Damon?"

Was he serious? Bonnie glared.

"Look, I don't have time for whatever stupid vampire games you're on right now. You're going to help me with this or I swear to God I'll melt your balls off. Clear?"

That look again. She wasn't liking it.

"You know, I don't know whether to be offended or turned on right now," Enzo said after a moment.

Bonnie stood up straight.

"I don't care how you feel. I just care about Damon."

His eyes shifted upon her statement and all playfulness was gone. Now they held something like camaraderie, approval. Enzo stepped out of the car.

"Okay. Just tell me what to do."

______________________

 

Damon couldn't think. There was so much to process in such little time. He'd been dead. Bonnie had been dead. Elena was still dead. And Stefan was on the verge of becoming a ripper all over again. He had to do something, anything but his chest was nearly exploding with a mixture of emotions. Fear of losing his baby brother to the darkside again. Grief at losing his girlfriend. Relief at knowing that his best friend would live on forever like him. He'd never lose Bonnie again. But there was anger there too. Disappointment in himself for their dying in the first place. Julian should have never gotten to Elena. He should have never had the chance to lay a finger on Bonnie. If Damon had protected them then none of this would be happening now.

 _Suck it up Salvatore. Don't be a puss_.

There was too much to do to be wallowing in self pity right now. He had to save his brother first and foremost. Because when Stefan and Klaus came together bad things happened. Somehow the Original hybrid brought out the darkness in Stefan. And coming from the Salvatore bloodline that darkness could be vast.

_We Salvatores are good at two things. Raising Hell and running away._

Damon tended to raise Hell. Stefan liked to run away. But under Klaus his brother didn't just raise Hell, he raised the fucking Armageddon.

 _I have to get to Stefan before he gets to Klaus. Everything else is just going to have to wait_.

He pressed his foot on the gas and gripped the wheel tighter. He'd failed at saving Bonnie and Elena but he wouldn't fail Stefan.

_________________

 

The first spell Bonnie tried was a locator. Using her own connection to the book she'd thought she could locate the heretic. It was a bust.

"How do you know it hasn't been destroyed?" Enzo asked her.

A valid question. Even a grimoire could be destroyed under the right magical circumstances.

"Because it hasn't been," was her retort.

It couldn't be. Damon needed it not to be.

"Valerie must have cloaked it."

Enzo didn't comment. Instead he watched as she circled the sofa.

"If I can find Valerie then I can find the book and bring Elena back."

She could try to use the note to locate Valerie. Or one of her blouses from the guestroom.

"Stands to reason that if she cloaked the book she probably cloaked herself too though," she thought aloud.

Which didn't leave her many options.

"She couldn't have gotten far either way. I mean she was just here when we went outside. And she was pretty weak as it was."

Enzo raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"You don't think…" he began.

Bonnie took a look around the room. Yes, she did think.

"She's still in the house," Bonnie realized.

"Under a damn cloaking spell."

But she'd been spent after the Expression spell so her magic had to be weak right now. And Bonnie's was so strong she felt it thrumming at her nerve endings. Yea, this bitch was going down.

"Valerie, you can't hold on for much longer," she called out.

"You're weak now. I'm fully charged. You're no match for me!"

Enzo watched with readiness.

"And the best part about this is that I'm not only fresh but at full strength so if you think you can beat me—"

Before she could complete the thought the familiar agony hit her soul. Siphoning, Valerie was siphoning her magic! Enzo ran up on her, unsure of what to do.

"Bonnie what's happening?"

Valerie was still cloaked which meant that Enzo couldn't see her. And Bonnie couldn't fight her with the siphon literally draining her. She screamed in pain.

"Valerie?" Enzo realized.

He began swing at the air around her in an attempt to hit the heretic. After the second swing he flew across the room and into a bookshelf. Bonnie saw him rise up in time for a splintered board to aim and shoot straight through his abdomen. He fell backward with a thick groan.

It was the last thing Bonnie saw before her neck snapped her into black.

_______________

 

Enzo saw Bonnie's neck snap. He saw Valerie appear. He saw her walk over to the same desk Bonnie had skimmed earlier and retrieve the thick spell book. Cloaked! The witch had cloaked it without moving it. Clever girl. Without a hesitation, Valerie sent the last chance of resurrecting Elena Gilbert up in flames.

"You tell Damon this is on him," she remarked without looking his way.

"It's best not to bite the hand that raises you from the dead."

He clutched the board and yanked it from his body.

"Stefan will never forgive you," he pointed out.

"You can kiss any hope of reconciliation goodbye."

Both Salvatores had a soft spot for the Gilbert tart. It wasn't just Damon who'd be hurting and she knew it. Valerie gave a nonchalant shrug.

"If what Damon says about where he's going is true then the last thing on Stefan's mind will be Elena Gilbert. I've already lost him."

Enzo stood. He felt like he had to say something. For Damon.

"This is far from over."

His friend would go after her and so would Bonnie.

"If Damon really loves her then he ought to be thanking me. I've saved this girl the struggle and heartache that the Salvatore men bring into women's lives. The inevitable pain and self sacrifice. From Lily and Giuseppe on down. Any woman who loves a Salvatore ends up losing everything."

She paused, gave him a pointed look.

"And that can go for the men too."

She turned solemnly to the door then and left him to chew on that. Enzo didn't try to go after her. Instead he went to Bonnie, checked on her situation. Yep broken neck. She'd be down for a while. He carefully lifted her and started to place her on the couch but changed his mind. She needed to be somewhere comfortable. Still carrying her prone body, Enzo made his way upstairs to Damon's bedroom. He then laid Bonnie on the bed, gently though he wasn't sure why. She wasn't going to wake. And being a vampire she certainly wasn't going to break. But for some reason finding her in this state made him want to be delicate with her.

 _She is pretty easy on the eyes_.

Understatement of the century. Bonnie Bennett was beautiful. Broken neck and all. Enzo stood and admired her for a moment. Gorgeous, strong, loyal, scary as hell when you crossed her…were he a better man he'd go for Bonnie.

_A woman like her deserves better than me._

Too bad. Something told him she'd be one hell of a lover.

He sighed. Oh well. There were plenty of witches in the sea…

_________________

 

Damon didn't bother to answer the first call. Or the second. Or the third. By the fourth straight sequence he annoyedly picked up.

"Damnit Enzo, you're worse than that drunk lay that won't take a hint. What do you want?!"

He was at his wits end, wound tight. Save Stefan, save Elena, save Bonnie from herself trying to save Elena.

"She's gone, mate. We can't bring Elena back."

Damon glanced in disbelief at the phone.

"What?"

He hadn't left that long ago. What the hell could have happened in the past twenty minutes?

"Valerie heard what you said," Enzo continued.

"She burned Bonnie's spellbook. Bonnie's knocked out but she'll be up in a few."

Bonnie?

Damon made a sharp U turn back in the direction of home. Bonnie too?

"What the hell happened to Bonnie? You were supposed to be looking after her."

"She's fine. Just a broken neck. Nothing a vampire can't recover from."

A broken neck. Again. Because he'd been away. Damon felt his gut wrenching inside. He knew that it wasn't from bad blood.

 _I let it happen again_.

The two most important women in his existence had been killed twice and he'd been on the road. Allowing it to happen. The thought sickened him.

"Don't let her out of your sight, I mean it Enzo. I'm on my way back. Try not to fuck anything else up before I get there."

With that he hung up and laid waste to the gas pedal.

Of all the things to go wrong. He'd literally just come back from the dead for history to repeat itself. That had to be an all time low. But he would fix this.

Back at the manor he was greeted by a visibly bloody Enzo. The front of his shirt bore a hole in the stomach.

"Just a flesh wound," Enzo remarked when he noticed Damon eying it.

It was a little too close to his chest for Damon's comfort. He'd never considered that Enzo could be taken from him as well. His best friend in misbehavior always seemed to come out of deadly situations alive so to speak. He was a survivor. But that wound…

"I swear to God Enzo if you ever die on me I'll kill you."

He pushed past him into to the house. Enzo shut the door behind him.

"I knew you cared," he teased.

When Damon turned to him, Enzo gestured toward the stairs.

"In your bed. Still out."

Damon was up in seconds. He found Bonnie just as Enzo had said, lying unconscious in his bed. The awkward twist of her neck tore him. He'd just seen this. It was too soon to see it again.

"Bon…"

He sat at her side, took her hand into his.

"I should've never left you. I won't make that mistake again."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. He knew what he had to do. Taking care, he lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Enzo stared.

"Damon what are you doing?"

"To the car. I'm not letting either of you out of my sight."

He moved past his stunned friend to place Bonnie carefully in the back seat. Enzo was shaking his head the entire way down.

"I'm not going to bloody New Orleans. I have things to do."

Damon slammed the door before approaching him. Oh he was going. He had no choice in the matter. Damon needed him nearby so that he could—

 _I can't chance losing him too. He, Bonnie and Stefan are all I have now_.

-have his back.

"If you want to take Bonnie fine," Enzo went on, "but I think I'll be of better use here. Maybe I'll track Val—"

Damon snapped his neck mid-sentence and caught him before he hit the ground. He then placed him in the passenger seat and set off. Enzo might be a little miffed when he woke but so be it. He'd already left friends behind and look what had happened. Even Elena…

He wouldn't fail them this time. Not Bonnie, not Stefan, not Enzo. The three of them would meet up and then they could discuss what to do with Valerie. The same heretic who'd brought him back had taken Elena permanently. Bitch had to go.

Stefan would agree. After a stunt like this even he couldn't forgive.

As Damon pulled off he glanced back at Bonnie then over at Enzo. He'd never lose them like he'd lost Elena. He'd never fail them again.


	6. The Hybrid

Klaus Mikaelson was not a hard man to find. He was the King of New Orleans and everybody knew it. The witches hated him, the vampires feared him and the werewolves he'd driven out to the bayou. The humans, they admired him because they had no clue of the monster he truly was.

Stefan was sure that he liked it that way.

He pulled up to the Mikaelson Mansion with only one thought in mind. Klaus. There was something he needed to ask him. It had been eating at him for the greater part of his journey. The feeling of familiarity, the empty yet palpable sense of fear and weakness he'd faced in Mystic Falls didn't sit well with him at all. It was one thing to fear but one always knew why. Even if he didn't know, a triggering event usually brought about clarity. But for Stefan there was only blankness.

And vampires didn't have blanks.

He didn't waste time scoping the place. He knew that it was upscale, the Mikaelsons had a thing for decadence—especially Klaus. Always out to show the world how great he'd become.

_Compensation for a boy rejected by his parents._

But Klaus was a boy no more.

Before Stefan could make it to the door a familiar figure appeared on the balcony above. Clad in his usual three piece suit stood the noble elder of the Mikaelson clan. Elijah.

"Stefan Salvatore? What brings you down to our neck of the woods?" he greeted.

Seeing the brother of the man he'd almost spent eternity with brought a faint smile to his lips. He recalled the time they'd spent together, practically in-laws.

_When Klaus got annoyed with me he'd threaten to sick Elijah to bore me to death._

But after Stefan had changed his ways it had become more of a taunt.

 _"Oh Stefan don't go Elijah on me," he'd groan_.

"I need to talk to him."

He'd meant to sound firm. Assertive and business. Instead his voice cracked, tipping off the fragile state of his emotions. Elijah caught it and disappeared into the house. Seconds later the front door opened and he was invited inside.

"Niklaus is in the studio, painting of course. I'll just show you in."

Stefan nodded, already feeling his heart accelerate at the proximity of his lost love. They'd had a life together. Until Klaus had gotten too possessive. Too protective.

_I need his protection right now._

No, he needed answers.

"Stefan, if you don't mind my asking are you alright?"

He turned to Elijah, the closest to moral in the Mikaelson family. And could not lie.

"No, not in the least."

Elijah nodded his understanding.

"I presume you'd like to talk to Niklaus about it first. Whenever you need another ear, I'm here."

His hand rested on Stefan's shoulder, the closest the two would ever come to a hug and Stefan feared he would come to tears. But he didn't. Not until the studio doors opened and his eyes rested on the Original hybrid himself. Klaus was in the middle of a paint stroke when he glanced over at the interruption. Their eyes met.

"Stefan?"

And the dam exploded. Instantly Klaus was there, his paints crashing to the floor behind him. He took Stefan into his arms without hesitation, sending a questioning look to Elijah. His brother shrugged before leaving them in private.

"Stefan, Love what's wrong? Tell me what happened."

He wasn't used to seeing him break down. Not like this. It took Stefan a few moments to collect himself enough to speak but even still he was compromised.

"I need to know," he managed, "I need to know why I feel so…"

Klaus searched his face seeking an answer to his mood no doubt. He was always a man of solutions.

"What? What is it?"

His hands took Stefan's cheeks and held his stare. Steadying him. It helped.

"Did something happen to me?" Stefan got out.

"Did you compel something away from me?"

Klaus paused, caught off guard by the question.

"What do you mean? Why would you ask me that?"

Stefan persisted.

"Compulsion can erase the memories but the feelings are still there. Even when they're gone there's an emptiness, an echo."

Klaus was shaking his head.

"When Damon compeled Jeremy to forget Vicki Donavan's death, he said he still felt a void. He said it didn't take the pain away only made him forget like something was missing."

"Stefan—"

"And what I feel now is the same thing. Like an echo of this feeling of being helpless, being something I'm not because I'm a vampire damnit!"

He reached up to wipe his own wet cheeks.

"Vampires can't be compelled. Except by an original. So I'm asking you, Klaus. Did you compel something from me?"

Klaus watched him in utter disbelief.

"I can't believe you would even ask me something like that. Why would that even come up?"

"Just answer the question!" Stefan cut in.

"Or can you? That's twice now I've asked you and you haven't given me anything."

"What's got you on like this?" Klaus fired back, "Why suddenly after all of these years would you just come to my doorstep accusing me of—"

Then something happened. Something in those blue eyes clicked and suddenly the over protective lover he'd known back in the 1920s resurfaced.

"Something's happened to you."

It wasn't a question.

"Something similar to before and it triggered this."

Similar to before? The question must have read on his face because Klaus shook his head.

"Don't ask me. Just tell me who hurt you."

Yep he was back. Dismissing Stefan's question for his own need for seeking vengeance. Gearing up to declare war on anyone who so much as breathed wrong in Stefan's direction. But the decades apart had strengthened Stefan. He wouldn't back down.

"What do you mean like before?" he demanded.

Klaus ignored the question.

"Tell me who hurt you," he repeated, "and I will rain hell fire on him!"

His body trembled with rage, a rage Stefan had seen before. Back in 1922 when an unfortunate bar attendant had insulted Stefan's heritage. Some racial slur against Italians. Though Stefan's mother was of a different descent, his father Giuseppe had been full Italian. Stefan could've handled the guy himself, he'd been more than able but Klaus had other plans. He hadn't even allowed the man to finish his drink before leaping across the table, reaching into his mouth and ripping the guy's tongue out with his bare hands. The entire time Klaus hadn't said a word but his eyes had said enough. They said the same now.

But Stefan had to know.

"Tell me what you meant when you said like before," he responded.

"What did you compel away?"

Klaus flashed his fury toward him.

"Goddamnit Stefan just give me his name!"

He struck against the nearest object, an antique oak table, and flung it back toward the wall. Splinters splattered everywhere in its destruction.

"He won't get away with it. I won't abide it!"

Stefan rushed him, met him toe to toe.

"And I won't abide not knowing!"

Klaus shook his head.

"You don't need to know."

"The hell I don't!"

"You're better off without the memory," his former lover insisted.

"You don't remember the nightmares. You never saw the look in your eyes whenever Damon would mention him."

Mention who?

"Damon? What are you saying Damon knows about this? He knew you compelled me?"

"Damon doesn't know shit and he never knew shit because you hid it from him."

Stefan wouldn't break eye contact.

"Kept what from him?"

Klaus was starting to pace, needing an outlet for the furious energy burning inside. Or was it something else? That look again, the same one he'd had whenever he'd neglected to tell Stefan things "for his own good."

"You don't need to know!"

That did it. It was audacious enough that he'd taken his memory but to add to the violation with this patronizing? Stefan cut him off mid-pace and grasped his shoulders with force. It was an action no other being could take and still live.

"Who the hell gave you the right to decide that?" he screamed.

Klaus spoke before thinking.

"You did!" he screamed right back.

Stefan blinked at his answer.

"Every night he tormented you in your dreams. You'd wake up in cold sweats, sometimes you wouldn't even sleep. You never saw the look in your eyes, Stefan and you better hope to God you never have to see it on the face of someone you love. You were broken and you begged me to take it from you. You didn't want to have to face the fact that he did those things to you. His own son."

Klaus's words hit him and Stefan nearly fell over. His father? Was he responsible for the terror Stefan had felt with Enzo? Emotions whirled through him. He'd known his father was cruel, the man had abused his mother, his brother and him but that had been relegated to hitting and berating not…

"Are you telling me that my father…did things to me?" the words were hard to speak.

They were hard to hear. Klaus sighed, his body expressing the regret he felt at revealing such information.

"After your mother's death. You told me that was the first time. But it didn't become a routine until after Damon went off to the war."

Stefan only stared, all air knocked out of him. Though he must have gone through these things, he had no recollection at all. Only pain. A pain in his chest as he understood. The helplessness he'd felt with Enzo hadn't been about Enzo at all. It had been about his father. It always had been.

"I wanted to take that pain away from you, spare you the horror," Klaus said quietly.

He touched Stefan's cheek affectionately.

"You don't deserve any of it. You never did."

Stefan didn't speak, but his eyes met Klaus's.

"I would burn down the heavens and all of Earth to avenge you Stefan. I have to know. Who hurt you? Give me his name."

That was when Stefan looked away.

He could tell him about Enzo, make Enzo suffer. But he didn't want Klaus's brand of justice for the bastard. Be it swift or long and torturous, the result would be the same. Death. And as much as he hated Enzo for what he'd done, he couldn't bring himself to want him dead. Why?

 _Because he was Damon's best friend_.

The worst kind of best friend; the kind that encouraged his bad behavior. The kind that enjoyed it himself. But he'd meant something to Damon. Just one more link to the brother he'd never see again.

"Stefan, look at me."

He didn't.

"Why won't you just tell me?"

He felt tired now, exhausted even.

"I don't want to talk about it now," was all he offered.

"Why are you protecting him?"

"I'm not protecting anybody."

"Then why won't you tell me?" Klaus repeated, losing his cool.

Stefan turned his back, ready to leave the studio.

"You know I can make you tell me."

That threat had once ended their relationship. Many years ago.

"Klaus please just…let it go."

The wrong words to say and Stefan instantly regretted them because he knew what would come next.

"For now," he tried to add but Klaus was already livid.

"Let it go?! LET IT GO?! Someone violates you, sends you crying to my doorstep and I'm supposed to let it go?"

He was before Stefan in half a blink.

"You're going to tell me who he is. And I'm going to make him wish his ancestors were never born. I will obliterate his legacy. Hell will be a sweet paradise in comparison!"

When he sought Stefan's eyes, Stefan shoved him away.

"Really? You don't think I've been violated enough? You're going to compel me against my will?"

Klaus took his shoulders.

"Tell me who hurt you!"

"No!"

They'd fought before but with Klaus being an Original it was a no-brainer who was stronger. Nevertheless Stefan decked him and prepared for a fight. But the fight never came. Instead, Klaus stormed from the room shattering the studio doors on his way out. Stefan stared after him, sure of what his next move would be.

_He's not finished. He's going to try to compel it out of me._

But he couldn't let him. Because like it or not Damon loved Enzo and he couldn't have someone Damon loved killed. Especially by the most ruthless hands this side of the Atlantic.

"Give him time."

He wasn't sure when Elijah had shown up but now he stood in the doorway.

"He only responds this way because he loves too intensely. But I assure you, he will not compel you against your will ever again."

Stefan looked at him.

"And you have that much faith in him?" he asked.

Elijah smiled.

"I have that much faith in the power of love. Now come, let me show you around. We have a lot of catching up to do."

______________

 

Klaus hadn't changed much over the years. He was still ill-tempered, impulsive and fiercely protective of the ones he loved. Stefan took comfort in that despite his fears. Elijah insisted that his brother would never compel him but the Klaus that Stefan knew wouldn't take this sitting down.

"Elijah, how much of our conversation did you hear?" he asked as they settled on the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

Elijah barely shrugged.

"You know I don't make it a habit to eavesdrop but…Stefan I care for you as a brother. You're my Niklaus's soulmate. You're family. And when family shows up in your state you want to know what's going on."

Stefan couldn't fault him for that.

"He can never know," he explained to the elder Original.

"If he did he'd do something and I don't want vengeance. Not his way anyway."

Elijah nodded.

"Then what do you want?"

Stefan ran his fingers through his hair. He wanted for it never to have happened. Enzo, his father…

"I don't want to feel like this anymore. I don't want to feel any of it. Especially with Damon being…gone."

In his dealing with the Enzo situation he hadn't had the chance to tell Klaus about his brother's death. It looked like Elijah would be the first.

"Gone?"

The memory stung him fresh in the heart.

"He's dead. For good this time."

If anyone knew the pain of losing a brother it was the Mikaelsons. During their human years they'd lost their youngest, Henrik. It was what prompted their parents to create the curse that made them what they were. Then even as vampires they'd lost their eldest. Finn.

"Losing a brother is literally losing a chunk of yourself. Of your world," Elijah related.

"With Henrik it was a shock, unreal. But we were human. Death as tragic as it was, was inevitable. As vampires though we get lulled into a false security. Because we can't die naturally when we do lose each other it hurts even worse."

He rested a hand over Stefan's. The intimate act caught him off guard. But it was welcome. Stefan blinked back the water in his eyes.

"Damon was all I had. He was my big brother. Granted I had to clean up his messes more often than the other way around but he was my brother. And now he's gone."

He looked over at Elijah. Finn had been his older brother.

"How long was it?" he asked the Original.

Elijah met his gaze.

"Pardon?"

"How long until you could breathe again without feeling that weight. Until you could enjoy a day knowing that he never would again?"

Damon had sure loved to enjoy himself. He could be a party animal when in a good mood. Elijah leaned closer to answer. Then he caught his eyes and Stefan's world swam.

"The moment I release your hand you will forget the questions that I ask. You will only remember that we talked about Damon. Now, tell me who hurt you Stefan."

The compulsion took over.

“Enzo.”

“And who is he to you? Why are you protecting him?”

Stefan was under.

“He was Damon’s best friend. Damon loved him. I can’t kill the last person Damon loved.”

Elijah’s brow furrowed.

“This Enzo. Tell me all there is to know about him.”


	7. The Originals

After a mouthful Elijah was satisfied. And quietly enraged.

“Very well. I’m going to release you now and you won’t remember a thing about this conversation.”

He let Stefan go then and the younger vampire blinked.

“To be honest Stefan, I still think of him today,” Elijah answered without missing a beat.

“Finn and I may have had our differences but I would give anything to have him back. Even if it’s to watch him blow up over being called an insufferable bore.”

He chuckled lightly and Stefan felt Elijah’s love for his brother.

“The thing is, now that Finn is no longer with us my siblings have passed his title along to me. I guess that’s the price you pay for being the responsible member of the family.”

Stefan knew a thing about that.

“Damon used to be responsible,” he noted.

“When we were still human. He always looked out for me. When my dad was on his tirades, Damon made sure to take the brunt of it. Even after everything with being vampires he still tried to take care of me in his own way.”

He felt his chest tighten with emotion. Elijah seemed to sense it and again took his hand.

“Vampirism has a way of bringing out the best and worst in people. Despite your fall-outs it was quite apparent even to me how much your brother would do for you. Take comfort in knowing that you managed to come together and repaired the rift that our curse caused before he left this world. I only wish Finn and I had done so.”

Stefan could be grateful for that. He and Damon had come a long way. At least they’d made up.

“Oh your house is so big!”

Both Stefan and Elijah glanced down to find a visibly tipsy woman entering the grounds. A few paces after, and obviously just as drunk was the youngest of the remaining Mikaelson brothers, Kol.

“That’s not the only thing that’s big darling,” he teased as he scooped her up from behind. She giggled drunkenly and Stefan fought the urge to hurl. He was NOT in the mood to see joviality right now. Kol kissed her sloppily across her cheeks before setting her back on the ground.

“Oh yea? I’d like to see what else is big around here.”

The Original spun her to face him.

“Well I’ve been told that I have big hands,” he teased.

She took his hands and hiccupped.

“Oh I like your hands.”

Kol wiggled his eyebrows.

“The better to touch you with...”

His lips came to hers and they kissed again. Stefan groaned. When the smoochfest ended, she traced Kol’s lips.

“I like your lips too.”

He cocked his head to the side admiringly.

“I like your neck.”

Stefan straightened in his seat.

“Do you?” she brushed her blond hair to the side revealing the bare flesh.

That was when Kol’s smile turned wild.

“Absolutely but I’m not shallow. It’s what’s on the inside that matters.”

He tore into her so savagely she had no time to scream. Stefan’s first instinct was to jump down and save her, to fight Kol off but he didn’t move. She was already dead anyway. What would be the point? Elijah frowned slightly, his disapproval more likely of the mess than the killing itself. There was only so much honor in a vampire.

Once finished with his meal Kol dropped the girl’s corpse to the ground and released a loud belch. His eyes twinkled mischievously.

“Never too early for a bloody Mary. Or bloody Brenda, whatever her name was.”

He glanced up to see their less than pleased faces.

“Stefan? Stefan Salvatore?”

He wiped a thick streak of blood from his chin. It only smeared.

“The last time I saw you your friends were staking me with a white oak.”

Stefan hadn’t had anything to do with that. Kol scoffed at his silence.

“Please tell me you didn’t come all the way down here to scowl at me,” Kol came closer, giving them a better view.

His shirt was open low revealing a hint of his tight, toned pecs. No doubt his dinner’s handiwork.

He smiled up at Elijah.

“Does Nik know his bottom bitch has returned?”

Well Kol hadn’t changed. Elijah gestured toward the body on the ground.

“Does the word discretion mean anything to you at all?”

His baby brother shrugged dismissively. His eyes remained on Stefan.

“What brings you to our lovely abode Stefan? You and my brother going to give it another go?”

He was being sarcastic of course. Because he could. If Elijah was the noble and stoic brother, Klaus was the temperamental, impulsive brother then Kol was the wild one who just didn’t give a shit. What Klaus did out of anger or merely to prove his power Kol did for sheer fun. Both could be brutal but while you could predict Klaus’s moods his baby brother was as shifty as the joker card. The only thing you could count on with Kol was that he would find a way to shake things up. And not for the better.

“Good to see you again, Kol,” was all Stefan offered.

He didn’t have the mental energy to deal with him at this point. Elijah stood and straightened his jacket.

“Stefan perhaps you’d like to retire to the guestroom while I talk to my brother.”

It was a welcome exit. Kol smirked as Stefan left the balcony, but didn’t say anything else to him. Judging by Elijah’s stance he had a lecture coming on. Not that it would do much good on Kol.

Stefan left them to talk and found his way back to the guestroom that Elijah had shown him. There were plenty but he’d chosen the one closest to Klaus’s sleeping quarters. Just in case…

 _Just in case I miss him and need to go to him. Just in case the nightmares are too much_.

He raked his fingers through his hair. Who was he kidding? He and Elijah both knew where he wanted to sleep. In the protective arms of the man he still loved. The guestroom was just a front for the fight he and Klaus had just had. To make Klaus come to him with an apology.

Good old Elijah. He always had his back.

Stefan glanced down the hall toward Klaus’s bedroom. Had he returned? Or was he still storming through the house over Stefan’s refusal to name his attacker? Wherever he was, he was a hell of a lot closer than Mystic Falls. That knowledge alone was enough to give him a sense peace for the night.

____________________

 

“Somebody finally offed Damon huh?”

Kol rested his behind against the edge of the table in Klaus’s study. Elijah hadn’t wanted to speak out in the open and this was the most secure setting on the premises.

“Who did it? I ought to send them a gift basket.”

Kol most likely didn’t mean it. He’d never cared enough for the elder Salvatore to actually dislike him. He’d always found him “unremarkable.”

Elijah shook his head in reply.

“He didn’t get the chance to expound on that on account of your colorful interruption. But that’s another matter.”

Kol shrugged.

“I brought you here because I need you to be mindful of Stefan’s condition. He’s suffered a terrible loss but has also endured other hardships that have left him especially vulnerable. I watched him break down in our brother’s arms not even an hour ago. Now we both know what he means to Niklaus. For that I consider him family. Which means we will give him the support he needs to get through these traumatic events.”

There was something in his tone that signaled to Kol that this was a serious matter.

“Vulnerable is he?” There was no humor in his question. Elijah nodded.

“Damaged.”

Kol let out a breath.

“Like our kind of damaged?”

Their father too had been abusive though his aggression had been directed at Klaus in particular. Physical, emotional and psychological. Elijah again nodded.

“Perhaps even worse.”

Their father in all of his cruelty had never once touched any of his children in a sexual manner. Kol read the severity in his brother and his point was taken.

“I’ll go easy on him,” he promised.

It was what Elijah needed to hear.

“Thank you.”

“How did Nik take it?” Kol wondered.

“You know how he gets. Especially about Stefan. I’m surprised he hasn’t declared war already.”

Oh he would have if he’d known who the perpetrator was.

“The usual tirade. But things will be handled. Rest assured. I just need you to be mindful of Stefan’s condition. At this point I’m not sure how much antagonism he can take.”

Kol was chewing on those words when the doors of the study opened. The brothers turned to find the man of the hour eyeing them suspiciously.

“Any reason why the two of you are in my study?”

They watched Klaus enter the room. His shoulders were tense, his eyes narrowed. Yep he was still in a mood.

“We were discussing Stefan and the support our family will be offering him,” Elijah replied.

He noted the twitch in his brother’s jaw.

"As if he isn't experiencing enough, he informed me that Damon is dead as well."

Klaus stared, speechless for a brief moment. More so for Stefan's loss than any love for Damon he imagined.

“He will get through this, Niklaus. But he’s going to need you.”

“He already has me,” the hybrid growled stubbornly.

“He’s the one refusing to let me help him.”

“Let you help him how? By torturing and killing the culprit who hurt him?”

“Oh more than that,” he threatened.

Elijah shook his head.

“Don’t you see that’s not what Stefan wants from you? He wants you to hold him, to comfort him right now. That is why he drove all the way down here to New Orleans and cried on our doorstep. Go to him. Soothe him. His attacker will be dealt with in due time. That is a promise.”

Klaus opened his mouth to object.

“He will be dealt with,” Elijah repeated.

“You have my word.”

And his word was bond. If there was one thing Elijah Mikaelson never did it was break his bond. It would dishonor him beyond reprieve.

Klaus was visibly agitated at the thought of leaving vengeance in another’s hands even if that other was his most trusted sibling.

“Come, come now Nik,” Kol offered his two cents.

“Let big brother handle it.”

Klaus, turned an ornery eye toward him.

“I don’t recall asking for the opinion of a degenerate blood addict on this matter.”

Low blow. Kol’s blood addiction was a sore point for the entire family. His brother was in his face in seconds.

“I suppose you would know about blood addicts given your little boyfriend’s background.”

That was enough for Klaus to bare fangs.

“You don’t want to go there Kol.”

“Oh but I think I do.”

They stood toe-to-toe, both itching to work off inner aggression. Before they could come to blows, however Elijah spoke.

“Yes, by all means tear each other apart. That will be productive.”

He gestured toward the direction of the guest rooms.

“I’m sure a nice bloodbath between brothers will do wonders for Stefan’s current state.”

Klaus checked himself immediately. Kol took his time but rescinded nonetheless. Pleased that the violence had been averted, Elijah straightened the lapels of his suit jacket.

“What Stefan needs right now is healing and I will not have either of you jeopardizing that with ego trips and childish antics. You will both mind yourselves.”

He didn’t ask if it was clear nor did he need their confirmation. They understood. They had no choice but to understand. Klaus had all of the motivation in the world—his love for Stefan—but his ego had come between them before. His brother needed to understand that love was sometimes about relinquishing control.

“I have some things to do,” Klaus murmured before turning to leave the office.

He was half out the doorway when he paused.

“We’ll discuss later why you two felt the need to invade my personal study.”

Of course. It was well known how he despised having his things touched. His spaces, his possessions, his man.

Klaus left them with that and Elijah breathed an inward sigh of relief. It appeared he’d gotten through to one brother. Kol should be alright for the next few days or so but eventually he would get antsy. It was just his way. Which meant Elijah had better handle this Enzo matter quickly. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. Not with what he had planned for the fiend who’d hurt Stefan.

_______________

 

He heard Klaus's approach long before he entered. Knowing how stealth his Original lover could be, Stefan knew that he'd done it on purpose. He'd wanted to make himself known. To give Stefan the respect of privacy. That was a start.

"I see Elijah gave you the grand tour."

Stefan sat up in bed. He hadn't been asleep but staring at the ceiling. Thinking.

"You like the room?" Klaus asked.

Stefan nodded. It was comfortable. He watched his host make a complete entrance.

"About earlier," Klaus began.

Was this going to be an apology?

"I would never compel you against your will. Not ever again."

Not exactly an "I'm sorry" but the closest to sorry he'd get. Rather than dwell on the moment, Stefan opted for humor.

"You'd better not. Or I'll sick Elijah on you."

That earned a smirk. Feeling the mood lightened, he pat the mattress beside him.

"You can sit down if you want."

"Of course I can, it's my house," Klaus remarked as he took a seat.

Their eyes met.

"You know, the last time we were both on the same bed flapper girls were in, cigarettes were classy and colored wasn't considered a racial slurr."

Klaus nodded in reminiscence.

"It's certainly been a long time hasn't it? Though to be honest the only color I ever cared about was the red beneath the skin."

He slipped a hint of fang. Stefan chuckled.

"Right, so serial killing vampire is okay just as long as you're not a racist serial killing vampire."

The snicker Klaus released reminded him of intimate moments past. When they'd lie in bed together and laugh at the foolishness of humans. Carefree times. He caught himself staring now. Klaus caught him too and their eyes clicked in familiarity.

Stefan cleared his throat.

"I see Kol is back." He shifted.

"The two of you under the same roof again? It must be driving Elijah crazy."

He liked the slightly annoyed, slightly amused glint that sparked in Klaus's eye.

"I reckon Elijah needs a bit of shaking up in his life."

Stefan thought about Elijah. The peacemaker, the gatekeeper, always fixing his brothers' messes.

"Damon used to say the same about me," he confided.

Klaus's eyes softened.

"Funny thing is, I was always cleaning up his messes. I never had an Elijah, I guess because I was the Elijah."

He felt a lump in his throat, memories of Damon coming to mind.

"It wasn't his fault, you know. His being a vampire. If it wasn't for me—"

He was cut off by empathetic hands on his shoulders.

"Then he would have died over a century ago and you'd still be without him. Stefan you can't blame yourself. Not for Damon."

When Klaus pulled him into him, Stefan didn't object. He melted into him, embracing his scent, his feel.

"If I'd never gone after Julian in the first place, if I'd just listened to him…"

Vengeance hadn't been worth it. To avenge the child he'd never had he'd lost the brother he'd always known. If he had it all to do over again, if he could bring Damon back…

"This isn't on you, Stefan. You didn't bring Julian into your lives, your mother did. I only wish I'd been there to protect you and spare you this pain."

Klaus had managed to protect his brothers for a thousand years. From everything but himself.

"He was my family," Stefan lamented.

"He was literally all I had."

He felt Klaus squeeze him tighter. A feeling of security swept through him.

"No, Love. You still have family. You have me. Always and forever."

 

 

 

 


End file.
